Music’s power in leadership and the development of trust has been both recognised and
documented at least since the time of the Ancient Greeks. The potential impact of faceto-
face meetings, as opposed to communication by other means – even aided by a
battery of technological developments – is also widely accepted. The authors argue
that modern quality-driven managers are missing a significant opportunity by their
apparent failure to perceive and exploit the synergy between these two elements.
The article commences by tracing the history of the use of music and its influence
on interpersonal behaviour. It continues by exploring the various attributes of music
that can be brought to bear on improving quality in meetings. Finally, it describes
the many tools and opportunities that managers have to exploit the power of music
in targeting greater efficiency in communication, cognition and cooperation among
quality-focused teams.